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Friends of the Summerstown Trails offer a happy kid business

And they're off: Roxmore Public School kids snowshoeing in the Summerstown Forest, and being led by Joseline Beaulieu, the school program manager for the Friends of the Summerstown Trails, on Monday, February 12, 2018, in Summerstown Station, Ont.

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With Friends like this, of course there’s going to be an annual visit or two.

Roxmore Public School teacher Nicole Beaulieu and students from the school in Avonmore have been making regular visits to the Summerstown Forest over the last few winters, taking advantage of a program that continues to draw rave reviews.

“Not only are the activities amazing, but the welcoming party is really amazing,” said Beaulieu, talking about the efforts of the Friends of the Summerstown Trails, efforts that are making it a top-notch field day activity for lots of schools in the region. “These people are organized. They’re great with the kids, and they know what to do.”

The activities are cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, and they’ve been offered for the last six years. And word has gotten out – the last few years, over 1,000 kids have visited, according to Jean-Pierre Tibi, a member of the Friends of the Summerstown Trails board.

“We have 13 or 14 schools that come out each year, some come (twice in a season),” he said.

But Tibi added that it’s actually been a tough year for the program, with numerous postponements due to the thaw/freeze cycles that have been going on over much of the winter.

The Sunday afternoon freezing rain made things dicey on a sun-splashed Monday for the school trip. It was only on Monday morning when it was confirmed that the trails could be groomed and properly prepared in time. That was great news for Roxmore P.S. – “we had to cancel two weeks ago (because of weather),” Beaulieu said.

Give a lot of the credit on Monday to Friends of the Summerstown Trails member Vic Leroux, who was out with the groomer early in the morning and was able to work his magic.

Tibi gives the credit for the school program to member Dr. Doug Boeckh – “he got the initial grant (for program funding) six years ago,” Tibi said.

The school program was initially funded by an Ontario Ministry of Sport and Health promotion, a Healthy Communities Fund grant. Over the last few years, the Friends of the Summerstown Trails have run the program with increasing success and without any government assistance.

Despite the unpredictable weather and conditions in 2018, Joseline Beaulieu, the school program manager, is thrilled with what’s been accomplished.

“We’re a great team and the proof of that is word is getting out and more and more schools are visiting,” Beaulieu said. “I think we owe our success to all the volunteers who give it all they’ve got. . . we’re in the business of happy children.”

There were a lot of happy children last Friday, with three waves of kids from Williamstown Public School visiting, 150 students in all.

“We had a lot of volunteers out and it all went smoothly,” Beaulieu said. “But we’re always looking for more volunteers.”

The program is considered a great introduction for local school children to snowshoeing and cross-country skiing, and is primarily geared for Grades 4, 5 and 6, although younger grades, high schools and even St. Lawrence College students have participated.

A typical snowshoe outing involves a guided trip of three or four kilometres, and it’s not uncommon for some kids to catch glimpses of wildlife, including porcupines, foxes and deer.

Children participating in a cross-country ski outing receive a short orientation session before heading out on their own or in small groups along the marked trails.

For Roxmore P.S. Grade 6 student Sada Baynham, a morning at the Summerstown Forest is something to be looked forward to each winter.

“We come here every year with our school,” Baynham said. “I’ve been coming here since Grade 3. . . this and swimming are the (two best school outings each year).”

There are about 20 kilometres of groomed cross-country ski trails (classic and skating) in the Summerstown Forest, and nine kilometres of snowshoe trails, on varied terrain.

The trails range from beginner to intermediate in classification.

The trailhead and parking lot are in South Glengarry on County Road 27, 1.5 kilometres north of Summerstown Station.

Anyone interested in volunteering to help deliver the school kid program should contact Joseline Beaulieu at holycatfish@sympatico.ca.